Pistons’ Griffin scores 44, keys win in return to L.A.

LOS ANGELES —

Blake Griffin scored 44 points in his return to Staples Center for the first time against his former team as the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 on Saturday to snap a four-game skid.

Griffin was greeted with cheers during pregame introductions and received a standing ovation after a first-quarter video tribute from the team that drafted him first overall in 2009.

He stuck his right arm in the air and then brought his raised hands together in a thankful gesture without smiling. He clearly wanted to beat the team that stunningly traded him last January after he had signed a five-year, $171 million extension.

Griffin scored 15 points in the opening quarter, when he was razzed by superfan Clipper Darrell during free-throw attempts. He had 26 points in the first half, helping Detroit to a 65-54 lead.

■ Timberwolves 110, Pelicans 106 —

At Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:55 left and then blocked Anthony Davis’ potential tying 3, triggering Tyus Jones’ fast-break layup. Towns totaled 27 points and a career-high 27 rebounds. Davis had 30 points and 14 rebounds.

■ Thunder 122, Spurs 112 —

At Oklahoma City, Dennis Schroder had all of his 19 points in the second half for Oklahoma City, which had seven doublefigure NBA SCHEDULE, SUMMARIES EXPANDED NBA BOX SCORES STANDINGS scorers. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, who had lost three in a row.

At Phoenix, Findlay Prep product Kelly Oubre Jr. matched his career high with 26 points for the second time in three games and tied his career best with 11 rebounds for Phoenix, helping the team with the West’s worst record beat the conference leader.

At Sacramento, Calif., Bogdan Bogdanovich scored 22 points, and D’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield each added 21 for Sacramento, which improved to 10-3 against the East. Kemba Walker scored 31 points for Charlotte, which is 2-11 against the West.

■ Suns 102, Nuggets 93 — ■ Kings 104, Hornets 97 — ■ Magic 105, Celtics 103 —

At Orlando, Fla., Aaron Gordon had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, which led by nine with 1:43 left in its second win over Boston this season. Kyrie Irving scored 10 of his 25 points from the foul line in the final 4:31 for the Celtics.

■ Heat 112, Grizzlies 108 —

At Miami, Justise Winslow scored 26 points for Miami, which held on when Dwyane Wade blocked a potential tying shot by Shelvin Mack in the final seconds. JaMychal Green had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis.

■ Jazz 110, Bulls 102 —

At Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, his third straight game with more than 30, for Utah, which dealt Chicago its seventh loss in a row. Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists for the Jazz. ▶ www.reviewjournal.com/NBA